The Road to Darkness
by porygon181
Summary: A pokemon fic. It's supposed to get really interesting someday, but the point never really got out of my head and into print. shrugs


A story I started forever ago. I desperately want to continue it, but it doesn't look likely. So why post, it you ask? Good question. Enjoy anyways.

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Melissa stood beneath one of the many trees in the Valley of Gub, looking at a Caterpie in the tree. The huge valley was home to many bug-type pokemon, actually the only place recorded to have one known type of pokemon habituating it. Bug pokemon flourished in the valley, and for some reason, no other type of wild pokemon had ever been seen there.

But this girl didn't look like the kind of person to be hanging around the bug-infested, 73-mile long stretch of wooded valley alone. She was dressed in brightly colored, slightly childish looking clothing, a green shirt with two Azurills on it, and a blue skirt that came to her knees, not at all fit for hiking. The only thing holding her long brown hair down was a denim fisher hat that was placed tightly over her head. The strangest thing about her, though, was that she had no pokeballs adorning her waist, or anywhere else for that matter. However, she did have an egg - presumably a pokemon egg - that gave off a slight golden glow, that she cradled in her arms.

"Come on down, mister Caterpie," she said to the pokemon in the tree, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to catch you." She stopped abruptly, thinking she had just made a horrible mistake. "That is, I want to _play_ catch with you," she said, smiling innocently.

The Caterpie, however, didn't care one way or another about her. It looked at her once, the inched away on the branch of the tree.

Melissa sat down, pouting at the Caterpie, then turned her attention to the egg.

"It's okay," she said, petting it as if it were a pokemon, "When you hatch, you'll be a super champion winner pokemon." The egg obviously gave no reply, but the girl still smiled with such glee that anyone watching would've thought the egg _had_ replied.

Unknown to the girl, someone was watching. They had no air of stealth, not even a false one. They just stood behind a few short bushes and watched Melissa. The person didn't have a menacing look or a criminal aura, nor did they have the kind and happy traits of an angelic person. The boy stood at roughly 5' 5" with golden-and-red hair, and he just watched her, smiling as if he wanted to laugh but a laugh wouldn't come. His eyes betrayed his condescension, however, showing his laughter to be out of mockery.

"_How could anyone be _that_ inexperienced with pokemon?_" he thought, shaking his head.

Melissa obviously didn't notice the movement, however, as she was still trying to coax the bug pokemon out of its tree. The boy smirked and walked on. The girl wasn't worth his time – the only reason he felt like stopping was if he met someone who could be a challenge to him, or at least someone more attractive, and closer to his age. She fit none of the criteria.

Melissa snapped her head up from looking at the egg, hearing a twig or something break. She picked up the egg carefully and walked towards the bushes, trying to see if there was a strong or cool or cute pokemon hiding. It occurred to her that the pokemon might run away if it saw her, so she began to creep up on the bushes, hoping it wouldn't notice her until she saw it. When she was less than two feet away from the bushes, she jumped up and yelled "Boo!", parting the bushes. There was no pokemon hiding or waiting. Melissa stepped farther behind the bushes, looking for whatever had made the sound. All she saw, however, was form of someone walking away.

Excited at seeing someone else in the woods, Melissa called out. "Hey, you! Person! Wait up!"

The other person made no indication of seeing her.

Melissa smiled, assuming that he hadn't heard her at all, so she starting running towards him.

"Wait up! Hey! Can you hear me?"

No reply.

Luckily, Melissa could run fast enough, and she finally caught up to the boy, panting and out of breath.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? I was calling you! I'm Melissa. Who're you?" she asked, barely stopping to breathe while she talked.

The boy turned around, annoyed. He had tried to _avoid_ her. Hadn't she noticed? He opened his mouth to tell her to go away, or at least something rude, but then he noticed something he hadn't seen earlier. The egg was _glowing_. Normal eggs don't glow.

"Um, I'm Kendall," he said, still eyeing the egg. Sorry I didn't hear you…" he tried desperately to think of a decent excuse. Nothing came. "I'm, uh, partially deaf. Sorry."

Melissa obviously didn't see how lame of an excuse this was however, replying "Really? How'd that happen, Kendall?"

Kendall cringed at the sound of her voice. So, so… childish. But the unhatched pokemon she had must be rare, maybe even legendary. So he would tolerate her, just to see what the pokemon was. "Um, a really loud pokemon roared in my ear when I was a little kid," he said distractedly, planning how he would take the pokemon once it hatched. He could probably just take it and leave, he decided, after all, she had to be like what? Seven? Besides, she obviously didn't have too much of a loving family or anything to be out here all alone.

Melissa stared at him in awe "Wow, really? I don't know what I'd do if that happened to me!"

Kendall shrugged.

"So, have you been a trainer long? Are your pokemon strong? Can I see 'em? Huh, huh? Can I?" asked Melissa, oblivious to Kendall's annoyance.

Kendall gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I've been training since I was ten or something, and –"

He was interrupted by an amazed sigh from Melissa.

"And I only have a few pokemon that I keep all the time," he continued, shooting her a look that he hoped showed how much she bothered him. She didn't see it. "Because, um, they're the strongest ones I have. Here, let me show you them."

He grabbed his four pokeballs and threw one to the ground. With a burst of light, a Piloswine emerged, grunting questioningly about its surroundings. It raised its cruelly curved tusks into the air and sniffed in Melissa's direction, and then wallowed back to Kendall, displeased.

Kendall threw another pokeball to the ground and released a Machamp. The next pokeball revealed a Zangoose, and the last was a Golbat.

Melissa squealed in delight and ran over to the Piloswine and hugged the pokemon's long fur-covered body. Piloswine grunted again, displeased even more.

Kendall gritted his teeth harder and resisted the urge to tell her to get off. "Um, he's not very… um, social."

For once, Melissa got a hint and let go of the pokemon. "So, if you started training when you were ten, how long have you been training? Which one was your first pokemon?"

"I've been training for around six years, and Piloswine was my first pokemon. I got him back when he was just a little Swinub."

Piloswine grunted, not liking to hear about the stage of its life when it had been weak.

"That's so cool!' said Melissa, surveying all of Kendall's pokemon. "I wish I had pokemon like this."

Kendall nodded and returned his pokemon, and then resumed walking. Sadly, Melissa followed, close by his heels. Like a dog. A happy, talkative, little dog. Kendall groaned inwardly.


End file.
